CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was calling to see if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: Yes, we do.

CALLER: How much does it cost for that?

CLINIC: If you’re 12 weeks pregnant or under, there will be a total cost of $455.

CALLER: How do you know how many weeks you are?

CLINIC: Well, we go by the first day of your last normal period.

CALLER: Oh. That was January 15th.

CLINIC: There will be two separate appointments. The doctor will do a ultra sound on your first appointment, and that will be the final factor in deciding how far along you are.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: You said January 15th?

CALLER: Yes.

CLINIC: Okay. You’re about eight weeks, roughly.

CALLER: I’m just kind of worried. My boyfriend said he would pay cash for everything. I’m just scared. I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend said that you guys would have to tell my parents. But my boyfriend’s 22, and he was going to take care of everything. Would that be all right, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: Well, there is a parental consent in the state of Wisconsin.

CALLER: Oh, really?

CLINIC: But there’s a way around it too. Do you have a brother or sister over the age of 25?

CALLER: No. I’m the oldest.

CLINIC: Have you had any previous pregnancies?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: No. Then your final thing would be to call your public defender in your county. And what you want is a judicial bypass.

CALLER: Okay. What is that?

CLINIC: That means you’re going to sign for yourself, and you do not need your parents to be with you.

CALLER: Do I need a lawyer for that?

CLINIC: Yep. That’s what the public defender is. It’s free. You go in as Jane Doe. What county do you live in? I can give you their phone number.

CALLER: I live in Appleton.

CLINIC: Can you hold for a second? Is that something you think you’d want to do? And what you do on that is you contact the public defender, and you tell them you want a judicial bypass. And you set up a meeting with him or her, and then they discuss why you can’t go to your parents, do you know your three options, and those are parenting, adoption or an abortion. You discuss that with your public defender. And he may have you do a little research. He may even have you come here to get some information like after school or whatever. We can set something up where you come in and learn about what goes on during an abortion, what are the risks, things like that.

CALLER: Well, does a judge usually say it’s okay?

CLINIC: Yes.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Nine times out of ten, they’re pretty good.

Let me grab that number. Can you hold for a moment?

CALLER: Yeah.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Okay. He’s a really nice guy. And his number is 832-2886.

CALLER: Okay. And what was his name?

CLINIC: His name is Eugene Bartman. Mr. Bartman. And you just ask to talk to a public defender, and that will probably be him.

CALLER: Okay. Well, could I come there to get a pregnancy test just to make sure, because I haven’t had one yet.

CLINIC: Why don’t you go to the store? They’re a lot cheaper that way.

CALLER: Oh, really?

CLINIC: Yeah.

CALLER: But are they as right as the ones that you have?

CLINIC: They’re just as good. We almost use the same one that — like EPT. Fact Plus is one that we usually use that’s pretty similar. And do it with your first morning urine. When you get up tomorrow morning, do the pregnancy test then.

CALLER: Okay. Well, if it ended up that I wasn’t pregnant, could I come in there for birth control?

CLINIC: Actually, it would be our other clinic on Wisconsin Avenue. They could help you out with the birth control.

CALLER: So after I do the whole judicial thing, and I come in there — me and my boyfriend were talking about all this, and he said he would pay cash for everything. But we don’t want anyone to know about us. Would he have to —

CLINIC: Nobody will know.

CALLER: Would he have to fill out any forms or sign any papers?

CLINIC: No. Well, you would, not him.

CALLER: Okay. So his name wouldn’t be on anything?

CLINIC: No. No.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: First what I would do is do that pregnancy test first to make sure that you are pregnant. Go to Wal-Mart or whatever and go get one, and do it tomorrow morning. Then if you are indeed pregnant, then call the public defender, and tell him you need a judicial bypass to have an abortion.

CALLER: Okay. So if I had any other questions, could I call and talk to you?

CLINIC: Oh, okay.

CALLER: What was your name?

CLINIC: I’m Valerie. Or anybody here who picks up the phone will be able to help you out.

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

CLINIC: Good morning, Planned Parenthood, Appleton. Could you hold please?

CALLER: Yeah, I guess.

CLINIC: Thank you.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Thank you for holding. How can I help you?

CALLER: Yeah. I was wondering if you guys do abortions there?

CLINIC: Not at this clinic, no. I can give you the number for the Appleton clinic that does.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: It’s 731-9534.

CALLER: Okay. My friend told me that since I’ll be 14 in March that they would have to tell my parents. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he just sign whatever, and they wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: No. We have to have a legal guardian.

CALLER: Well, is there any way not to tell them. If they found out, I don’t know what they would do.

CLINIC: Okay. Why don’t you talk with the abortion clinic to see what you can do, okay?

CALLER: Oh, all right. Well, could I come in there for a pregnancy test though? I’m just really scared because my last period was December 14th, and I don’t know what to do.

CLINIC: Okay. Are you a student?

CALLER: Well, I’m homeschooled.

CLINIC: Okay. Because the pregnancy test is going to be $30.

CALLER: Oh. Well, my boyfriend said he would pay for everything.

CLINIC: Okay. Yeah, you can come in and have a pregnancy test. Just make sure that you do not go to the bathroom for three hours before you come in. And you don’t need an appointment or anything; it’s a walk-in service. On the day that you come in, you have to come in at least an hour before closing time though.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: What time do you guys close?

CLINIC: Today at 1:00. So you’d have to get here by noon.

CALLER: Oh, okay. I would really feel better if my boyfriend was there with me. Would that be all right?

CLINIC: Yeah, that’s fine. And you’ll have to pay about $30 today.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Well, he just doesn’t want anybody to know about us, so would you guys be asking questions or anything?

CLINIC: We’ll have you fill out some paperwork.

CALLER: Would he have to sign anything?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Nope. It doesn’t really have anything to do with him.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Well, if it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, do you guys have birth control there?

CLINIC: Yes.

CALLER: Would you have to tell anybody that I was on birth control though?

CLINIC: Nope. It’s confidential.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: But you would have to come in for an exam and a pap smear before we could start you on birth control.

CALLER: How much does that cost?

CLINIC: That can cost up to $100.

CALLER: Could I get on birth control right away?

CLINIC: You’d have to make an appointment to come back. If you came in for a pregnancy test, you’d have to schedule an appointment for a different time to come in and get birth control.

CALLER: Okay. The problem is I can’t drive because I’m not old enough. But can my boyfriend pick up the birth control after the exam or whatever?

CLINIC: Sure. He would just have to bring in — we give every patient that gets birth control here an identification card. And he would just have to bring that in for you, and he’d be able to pick up your pills or your birth control or whatever.

CALLER: Does he have to sign anything for that?

CLINIC: No. He won’t be a part of anything that you do here. It’s all having to do with you.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Well, thanks. You’re just so nice. If I had any other questions, could I call and talk to you? What was your name?

CLINIC: Sure. My name is Sarah (sp).

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: You’re welcome.

CALLER: Bye.

CLINIC: Bye bye.

***END***

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